knickerbocker village

Friday, March 13, 2009

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Annadale Staten Island Sewer Construction

Sunday, October 28, 2007



Annadale Residents To Be Hooked Up To City's Sewer System
October 24, 2007

A few hundred Staten Island homes and businesses are on their way to being a little more connected with the rest of the city – or at least with the part of the city that handles their waste water. Borough Reporter Amanda Farinacci has details on a project that will rid them of one dirty job.

Nearly 40 blocks of homes and businesses in the Annadale neighborhood will say goodbye to antiquated septic systems and connect to the city sewer system for the first time ever, thanks to a $35 million project announced Wednesday.

“New Yorkers whose residences are already connected to sewers do take this convenience for granted, but to anyone who has had to pump out a septic tank, the benefits of a sewer system are immediately clear,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The project, which actually began this summer, will install larger and more reliable water mains, improved catch basins and enhanced sanitary sewers in a triangular 40 block section of this South Shore community.

For 220 homes and 30 businesses it means an end to septic systems, which can pose health and safety dangers, and an improvement to storm drainage to prevent flooding after heavy rains.

It also means lots of construction, something resident Andrea Gulotta, who recently switched from septic to sewer, says is not a lot of fun.

“It’s a big mess. It’s still a big mess in front of my house, because, like I said, I just got it done,” said Gulotta. “It's just, you know, messy. Chopping up the streets, the sidewalks keep getting cracked, and they keep having to come and repair them.”

The Annadale Merchants Association has a plan to quell the fears of residents and local businesses about the impact of the project and plans to educate the neighborhood by using posters about the timeline and continue its involvement with the city by trying to form a business improvement district.

“It’s a two-year project, so does that mean we're gonna lose customers for two years? I don't think so. I think most people are gonna drive by and see what's really going on, and see it's really not that bad, however the scare is there,” said Frank Arlia of the Annadale Merchants Association.

The businesses and homes will have to pay to hook up to the sewer system and they'll have to pay annual sewer charges, but at least they won't have to deal with the messy and sometimes expensive job of clearing out a septic tank.

Sewer Floods In Queens



Comptroller: Queens Home To Most Sewer Floods In The City
August 19, 2007

The city comptroller’s office says Queens – which is already known for flooding when rainy weather hits – is now also home to the most sewer floods in the city.

The comptroller's office says the borough received 1,089 claims for damage caused by the sewer system overflowing from July 1998 to June 2007.

So far, only 297 of the claims have been settled for a total of $1.3 million.

Queens has more than twice the claims of any other borough. Staten Island comes in second with 536 claims. Brooklyn had 485; the Bronx had 416 and Manhattan had 193.

The city's Department of Environmental protection says the sewers of Queens are still trying to keep up with the borough's rapid development.

In the last five years, almost $1 billion has been spent on sewer improvements citywide and approximately $250 million per year will be spent over the next ten years on city sewer systems.

China's Yellow River Pollution


from HowStuffWorks. The Yellow River, cradle of China's thousands-year-old civilization, is shrinking and polluted so badly that nearly 70% of the river is not safe for drinking or swimming. Industrial waste and sewage, agricultural pollution and shipping discharges are to blame for the river's declining health. See how sewer and septic systems work in this news video from Reuters.

How Sewage Is Treated In A Filtration Plant

The Water Is Wide



James Taylor singing one of the best songs about "Water"

The water is wide I cant cross over
And neither have I wings to fly
Build me a boat That can carry two
And both shall row My love and I
There is a ship And she sails the sea
Shes loaded deep As deep can be
But not so deep As the love I'm in
I know not how I sink or swim
Oh love is handsome And love is fine
The sweetest flower When first its new
But love grows old And waxes cold
And fades away Like summer dew
Build me a boat That can carry two
And both shall row My love and I
And both shall row My love and I

Exploring India

Saturday, October 27, 2007